Deion Sanders and Rubén Sierra to their outfield competition for the 1997 season, prompting Mottola to question the Reds commitment to him. After he spent the 1997 season in the minors, the Reds traded Mottola to the Texas Rangers for a player to be named later in April 1998. He spent most of the 1998 season with the Oklahoma City RedHawks of the Class-AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL), but suffered a broken thumb that required surgery, limiting his season. Granted free agency after the 1998 season, Mottola signed with the Chicago White Sox for the 1999 season. He batted .321 with 164 hits, 32 doubles and 20 home runs for the Charlotte Knights. With the Syracuse SkyChiefs, the Class-AAA affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, in 2000, Mottola batted .309 in 134 games with 505 at-bats, 156 hits, 85 runs, 25 doubles, 3 triples, 33 home runs, 102 RBI, 37 walks, 30 stolen bases and 99 strikeouts. He led the league in home runs and also in slugging percentage, had the second highest RBI, was fourth in the league in hits and extra-base hits, and had the seventh highest batting average. He was named an International League All-Star outfielder in 2000, and won the International League Most Valuable Player Award. He was also named the Blue Jays minor league player of the year that season, and earned a promotion to the Blue Jays in September. After the 2000 season, the Blue Jays traded Mottola to the Florida Marlins for a player to be named later or cash. He played for the Marlins' Class-AAA affiliate, the Calgary Cannons of the PCL, and appeared in five games for the Marlins. In 2002, Mottola returned to Syracuse. He began the 2003 season with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization, playing for the Class-AAA Durham Bulls, but was released. He signed with the Boston Red Sox on June 12 to replace Julio Zuleta, who had signed to play in Japan, on the Class-AAA Pawtucket Red Sox. Mottola signed with the Orioles for the 2004 season, splitting his time between MLB and the Class-AAA Ottawa Lynx. In 2005, he returned to the Blue Jays organization, playing with Syracuse. He was promoted to MLB in 2006, but spent the majority of the 2005 through 2007 seasons with Syracuse. Transition to coaching Mottola retired after the 2007 season. During his final seasons, Mottola began to play less